Concerned with the growing / keeping of crops and livestock, the agricultural industry is mainly responsible for food production in the UK. Despite this, the industry is in somewhat of a decline and is only responsible for around 0.7% of the country's GDP. The sector covers many different areas of work such as forestry, farm labour, agronomy, machinery and horticulture, but with less than 10% of land in London being used for commercial farming, the UK capital is significantly behind other regions of the country. Specialist local agricultural recruitment agencies are experts at sourcing London candidates for the permanent, part time and seasonal vacancies of their clients.
For farm workers, the average salary is around £25K although over 10% report earning less than £10K. This 10% are assumed to be part time workers or accounted for by family labour. Although agricultural job opportunities in London aren't in abundance, salaries per annum tend to be higher and can comfortably exceed £30K with some experienced senior managers being able to earn 50K+. The rural areas in Bromley, Havering and Hillingdon offer the best locations to enter the field, whilst the wider South East county may be a more viable option for a candidate.
With over 90% of agricultural businesses employing less than 10 people, there is no definitive route into the sector. Entering into clerical or seasonal picking roles perhaps offers the best path into the industry although graduate schemes are available at some of the city's largest employers. The largest farming group in the UK is Farmcare Trading Limited, formerly The Co-operative Farms, and owns over 39.5K acres of land. Most of the country's largest universities provide an agricultural degree where candidates will learn skills such as animal rearing, how to utilise land and food production.
London agricultural recruitment agencies understand the staffing challenges faced by the local industry and are experienced at supplying clients with suitable professionals across all sub-sectors. Due to the nature of the industry, much of the work is considered seasonal and an agency will be adept at placing staff in these vacancies, as well as permanent, part time and contract jobs.